O’Donnell started his career at Fir Park before making a £2million move to Parkhead.

He was much loved by the two sets of supporters who will pay tribute to the former midfielder who tragically died ten years ago next month.

Boyd said: “Phil is rightly held in high esteem at both clubs and he has a stand named after him at Fir Park.

“At Celtic he was an integral part of the team which stopped Rangers winning ten-in-a-row.

“Someone asked me recently who he’d be supporting on Sunday and I think he’d sit on the fence because he had feelings for both clubs.

“It will be an emotional afternoon for Eileen and the family, especially with his boy leading the teams out. When you look at some players and their lifestyles, Phil could be held up as a model professional with the way he lived his life on and off the park.

“That’s why he’s still revered for what he gave to the game.

“I can remember him having a good couple of games against me, too!

“I do remember trying to match his runs, which wasn’t easy. I thought I was fit but Phil was up there.

“It was great to see him as a young boy coming through. His goal in the 91 cup final was his first goal for Motherwell, so what a way to do that.

“I also remember him scoring twice on his Celtic debut after Tommy Burns signed him. What an impact that was — in that one game Phil matched my tally of Celtic goals from my full career!”

O’Donnell was a box-to-box midfielder who was bursting with dynamic energy.

Boyd added: “That was Phil’s asset. I remember playing in a game against St Mirren, in what was his introduction to Motherwell, way back, when Kenny McDowall welcomed him to Scottish football — Kenny gave Phil a bust nose.

“He soon grew in stature and stamina and he was just a terrific player but unfortunately his bravery in playing through injuries in the earlier part of his career took its toll on him.

“But we’ll all remember Phil for what he was, a fantastic football player and a fantastic person.”

Boyd lifted the Scottish Cup as Well skipper in 1991 and insists the Steelmen could be celebrating again on Sunday.

He said: “They do have a chance. It will be difficult because you just need to look at where Brendan Rodgers has taken Celtic. But if Motherwell could reproduce the performance against Aberdeen — and against Rangers in the semi-final — then they’ve certainly got a chance. They’ll need to keep it very tight because we all know how good Celtic can be. They have real strength in depth with talent on the bench.

“Leigh Griffiths came off the bench at the weekend to score a worldy of a free-kick.

“There are so many different aspects of the Celtic team that Motherwell will need to watch. It’s not just one guy, it’s the whole squad.

“They can do it, but they’ll need to be defensively stronger than in some recent games.”